KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knox County jurors saw much of the state's key evidence Tuesday in its case against a young man accused of shooting and killing a Halls area store clerk while stealing bullets in 2022.
Larry McBee was 18 when prosecutors say he went to Rural King the morning of Dec. 22, 2022, to shoplift. Hours and days before, he'd been pressing friends and acquaintances repeatedly in social media messages to get ammunition for a pink pistol he owned, testimony showed in Judge Steve Sword's court.
McBee, now 20, is standing trial in Knox County Criminal Court on counts of felony murder, especially aggravated robbery and illegal possession of a gun. The trial started Monday. McBee is being held in jail in lieu of more than $2 million bond.
Before he headed to the store in a stolen Pontiac, McBee also searched on his iPhone for information such as buying ammo online, police response times to shootings, how to steal vehicles and the location of gun shops, testimony Tuesday showed.
But he wanted bullets most of all, prosecutors allege. He drove to the Rural King about 10:15 a.m. Dec. 22 for that very reason, wearing a red Door Dash mask and a blue backpack in which he planned to hide ammunition and a magazine, according to the prosecution.
Store surveillance video showed him milling for several minutes in the "Gun Barn" section of the store. He adjusted his backpack and appeared to tuck something inside it.
At one point he briefly encountered store clerk Tristan Smith, who'd been stocking shelves nearby. Video showed no sign that anything was wrong between them.
Store video also showed customer Chris Chandler arriving in that part of the store. Sporting a full white beard, Chandler was easy to spot: He wore a red Santa hat and a red tunic or shirt that Santa typically wears at Christmastime.
Chandler and McBee disappeared from store video shown to the jury while Smith could still be seen working in one of the aisles.
But then, Chandler testified on behalf of the state, he spotted McBee shoplifting bungee cords and ratchet straps so he immediately walked over to Smith to report what he'd seen.
As she continued to lay out the state's theory of the case, prosecutor Rachel Hill presented another surveillance video that showed McBee dashing from the store out a back emergency door with Smith in close pursuit. Chandler told jurors he heard two gunshots, although when he first talked to detectives two years ago he'd told them he hadn't heard shots.
Hill also summoned Knox County Sheriff's Office Detective Chris Allison, who responded to the shooting scene just outside Rural King.
Allison testified authorities found in the back parking lot one shell casing, one "projectile" that appeared to have been fired from a gun and a green toboggan -- the hat McBee had been wearing as he surveyed the store before fleeing.
Hill also presented jurors with surveillance video taken from a rear exterior camera that showed a fleeting foot chase between McBee and Smith. As Smith, 23, reached McBee, authorities allege, McBee fired the pistol he'd been carrying and ran away.
Smith could be seen in the surveillance video stopping and appearing to realize he'd been hit before walking out of camera range. He collapsed to the ground and died nearby from his injuries despite medical efforts to help him.
Tucked in the waistband of his pants was a handgun, testimony Tuesday showed.
Defense attorney Clinton Frazier isn't challenging the identification of his client as the gunman.
Instead, the defense appears ready to challenge the theory that Smith's killing was cold-blooded and deliberate. The moment McBee turned and fired happened in an instance and then he fled, the video showed.
Following a manhunt that lasted into the early morning hours of Dec. 23, 2022, McBee was arrested at an acquaintance's home, not far from where he'd grown up on McDonald Road in East Knoxville.
Investigators recovered bullets and a magazine they allege McBee had stolen from the store.
The trial is expected to continue Wednesday with testimony about firearms ballistics and the weapon prosecutors say McBee used to kill Smith.
Found on his phone after his arrest were multiple videos McBee had taken of himself showing off his pink handgun and holster.
